n, tuberculosis, took its rise then in overcrowded log cabins and
insanitary living, together with insufficient and often unwholesome
food. During this period there was a rapid decline in the Indian
population, leading to the now discredited theory that the race was
necessarily "dying out" from contact with civilization.

It must always be borne in mind that the _first_ effect of association
with the more advanced race was not improvement but degeneracy. I have
no wish to discredit the statements of the early explorers, including
the Jesuit priests; but it is evident that in the zeal of the latter to
gain honor for their society for saving the souls of the natives it was
almost necessary to represent them as godless and murderous
savages--otherwise there would be no one to convert! Of course they
were not angels, but I think I have made it clear that they were a
God-fearing, clean, and honorable people before the coming of the white
man.

THE TRANSITION PERIOD

The transition from their natural life to the artificial life of
civilization has been very gradual in most cases, until the last fifty
years, when the changes have been more rapid. Those who were first
affected were the so-called "Five Civilized Nations" of the South, and
the "Six Nations" of New York State, together with some of the now
extinct bands in New England, who came in close touch with the early
colonists. Both politically and commercially, they played an important
part in the settlement of America. Their services as scouts, guides, and
allies were of great value in the early history of this country, and
down to recent years. Many received no salary, and some even furnished
their own horses. It is a remarkable fact that there is not one instance
on record of a scout betraying the cause he served, even though used
against his own tribe and his own relatives. Once his honor is pledged
to a public trust, he must sustain it at any cost.

In many cases those tribes which declared allegiance to the French, the
English, or the Americans, were in their turn the means of bringing a
neighboring tribe into subjection. Thus began a new era in the history
of the Indian, inaugurating a kind of warfare that was cruel,
relentless, and demoralizing, since it was based upon the desire to
conquer and to despoil the conquered of his possessions--a motive
unknown to the primitive American.

To be sure the new weapons were more efficient, and therefore more
deadly;